Some amount of movement of GM crops outside their containment areas "is virtually inevitable," Mr. Fernandez says. "The question is, how do we feel about that? How important is that? Does it matter what the crop is?" The bentgrass may pose no significant danger, he says, but "would we feel differently" if it were a plant that produced pharmaceuticals?
Also, um: "This year, 61 percent of all corn and 89 percent of all soybeans planted in the United States were GM varieties, the USDA estimates. More than 80 percent of the US cotton crop is also GM." I don't mind them doing it, so much as I mind them doing it in secret. If this is really safe, why can't we know about it? But I suppose its just easier to donate to the re-election campaigns of key people than to do the hard work of educating the public, or actually participating in a public conversation about the merits and dangers of these products, and how they should be implemented. (via dm)
GM crops grown in secret? They advertise GM seed on television, and everybody knows GM crops are in the majority. Where's the secret?
Well, this is an issue of interest to me, and I had no idea the percentages were so high. But I was really referring to the presence of GM crops in our food supply. As I've said before, I'd just like it to be noted on the package so that I know what I'm buying and can make an informed choice.
To engineer a crop - as Monsanto does with it's roundup ready crops - for the sole purpose of surviving a brand of pesticide the same company makes, is simply evil from the get go. Not only oversight is needed for these companies practices, but oversight for the underlying reasons these products are made is severly needed.
I'm kind of torn between you and Schiller here. I agree, it is no secret that the crops are being grown. And I agree that if the manufacturers of GM crops and GM-containing foods were half as confident of the benefits they delivered to ordinary shoppers they'd embrace labelling, just as they did for the very first product, engineered tomato paste.
You want secrets, though, just try to find out how many processed foods -- by which I mean anything that is not a raw ingredient -- contain some sort of soya derivative. That'll amaze you.